More Than Just A Place To Call Home

The Accelerator YMCA offers skill-building workshops, financial literacy training, and employment programs to help young people become self-sufficient. Accelerator Y services are available to youth and families throughout King County, and not specific to one particular branch location.

The Accelerator Y knows that housing is just one piece of the puzzle that helps young people to find stability and to become self-sufficient. In alignment with the Comprehensive Plan to Prevent and End Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in King County by 2020 created by the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, we strive to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time for the young people we serve. We provide a safe and stable place for 250 young people to sleep each night through transitional housing, rental assistance, and permanent housing, but the key to long-term solutions is offering services that go beyond shelter.

We're the largest provider of housing for homeless young people in King County, providing a place for 250 young people to sleep on any given night.

So, how do we make homelessness rare, brief and one-time?

Rare:

We provide support to young people as they age out of foster care.

We provide support to young people in danger of losing their housing.

We help to stabilize families and keep young people in their homes.

We help to reunite young people with their families.

We provide a host homes program for families who are willing to offer a room in their home and a sense of community and mentorship for young adults transitioning from homelessness.

Brief:

We offer seven transitional homes located throughout King County for young people in need of short-term housing solutions (up to 24 months).

We provide rental assistance and Section 8 Vouchers to help young people get and maintain housing. We work with these participants to set a plan and financial goals so they can gradually begin to pay for housing on their own.

We provide a resource center for job readiness services, help with scholarships, referrals to resources, and more.

One-Time:

We provide case management support to help young people become self-sufficient. Support includes education, employment, health and parenting.

We support young people who are facing eviction to stay in their homes, and to develop a plan to maintain housing.

We help to connect young people with employment and internship opportunities.